A Battle of Souls

by Bella Forrest

  “Oh, great, Death Claws, too,” I murmured, staring at the dark cloud flying over the army.

  “There are hundreds of them,” Amina breathed, her eyes wide with horror.

  Laughlan scoffed, scratching the back of his head. “They had better hurry up with Lumi,” he said. “If those daemons hit the city before the shield comes down, we are absolutely screwed.”

  The army was now just two hundred feet away and moving at a rapid pace. They were going to pass by our patch within the next ten minutes, based on their speed. My blood boiled, thinking of all the innocents still stuck in Azure Heights. I worried about Harper and the others, as well. They had a lot on their plates, dealing with the likes of Shaytan and the Lords.

  I’d seen the atrocities that those creatures were willing to commit, just so they could continue tormenting and draining the life out of us. They were vicious and always had dirty tricks up their sleeves.

  “What if something went wrong?” I asked, suddenly animated by a sense of alarm. “What if they’re having trouble? Maybe I should go help…”

  “Don’t even think about it!” Laughlan replied, his tone clipped. His reprimanding gaze kept me in place. I clutched my branch.

  “I just hate sitting here. I’m useless,” I muttered.

  “Nonsense!” Laughlan shot back, while Rush and Amina nodded in agreement. “You are essential to this part of the mission. What if GASP can’t steer their interplanetary spell and land right in the middle of that mayhem? I need you here more than they need you out there, Vesta,” he added. “Besides, I promised your parents I’d make sure you’re safe when all this is over. I don’t plan on breaking my word.”

  “Well, they promised they’d stay alive, too, so… whatever.” I scoffed, crossing my arms.

  He had a point, though. Once the shield came down, we had to keep an eye out for the big ball of light coming down from the sky. I’d learned to manipulate the winds quite well over the past couple of years. Water had always come naturally to me. According to Mom, that applied to my pre-amnesia years, too.

  However, as soon as I’d figured out that I could manipulate the other elements as well, I’d started training. With all the moving around I did in my adoptive tribe, I knew I wouldn’t always have water around to help me. But there was always dirt or stone. There was always air. Sometimes, a fire could do the trick.

  The war drums grew louder, making me cringe. They brought back flashbacks from Ragnar Peak, sending shivers down my back. Chills rushed through me at the sight of pit wolves running ahead of the daemon squadrons and slightly spreading out.

  “Uh-oh,” I murmured. “I don’t like that.”

  “They might catch our scent,” Rush added.

  “No worries,” Laughlan replied, then put his palms together, closed his eyes, and muttered a spell. By the time he was done, a circle had formed in the grass around our tiny forest patch. It lit up red for a split second, then faded away in a puff of smoke.

  By the time the pit wolves reached our area, the fumes had spread out.

  “Everybody, stay calm and quiet,” Laughlan whispered.

  I watched one of the beasts casually come closer. It was huge, its skin black, its eyes bright red, and its tongue hanging from the side of its ginormous mouth. It sniffed the air, then shook its head with what looked like disgust and rushed back to the pack. They thundered past our patch and rumbled toward the city. There was less than a mile left before they’d reach it. Maybe twenty minutes before the daemons would hit the first level.

  “What did you do?” I asked Laughlan. He looked at me and put on a satisfied grin.

  “A little trick I used to employ when my teacher’s crops on Persea were targeted by pests,” he replied. “The smell is nasty to pretty much any animal. Thankfully, it applies to pit wolves, too.”

  “Your Druid teachers had crops?” Rush asked, slightly confused.

  “Of course. Our herbs had to come from somewhere, right? So did our food. The Druid Temple was always self-sufficient. It was part of our apprenticeship to look after our fields. We’re naturally bound to the environment that we inhabit, after all,” he replied, then stilled as the daemons finally started coming through.

  We all turned into living statues. I held my breath for a while, my muscles tight and burning with a mixture of fear and anger. I couldn’t wait to see them all go down for their crimes.

  “Don’t move,” Laughlan mumbled. “Don’t make a sound.”

  We didn’t.

  Death Claws flew across the field in front of us, cawing and screeching. The flapping of their leathery wings sent currents of warm air outward, making the leaves in our forest patch rustle.

  The daemons followed, grunting and smacking their swords against their meranium shields. The drums thundered on the edges of this first squadron. The others were farther away, as the army advanced in a horizontal line against the city. We were right on the edge, and, fortunately, only had to put up with the bloodcurdling ruckus for about three minutes before they were all gone.

  They’d brought catapults and ballistae. I could hear their giant wooden and iron structures moaning and grumbling as they were pushed through the tall grass. Daemon Legions, the oversized generals I’d learned to steer clear of, whipped the weaker soldiers around, forcing them to stay in line as they advanced toward the city.

  “Oh, man, they’re in a heap of trouble,” Laughlan murmured, watching them go.

  He took a lens out from his pocket, along with two small vials of what looked like colored oil. He proceeded to spread both liquids over the lens, making it shimmer in a pale shade of blue.

  “Worst part is that there are so many innocent Imen stuck up there,” I replied, finally able to breathe again, since the daemons were out of our range.

  “The Exiled Maras are the worst,” Rush said, gritting his teeth. “Absolute cowards, hiding behind defenseless creatures like that.”

  “It’s despicable,” Amina added. “You know, my mother was part of the council that banished them, along with House Dorchadas. I remember my father vehemently protesting the decision to exile them, instead of wiping them all out. Gah… If only they’d known.”

  I exhaled sharply. “Unfortunately, we can’t go back and change history,” I muttered. “But we can sure as hell fix as much of the damage they’ve done here as possible.”

  “Which is why it’s imperative that we intercept GASP when they come down,” Laughlan said. “They need to know who the innocents and the rebels are. I’m guessing they’ve brought more dragons with them. They can’t just let them loose on Azure Heights.”

  I shook my head slowly. “We’ll make sure they don’t just blitz the place. Though I would love to see dragon fire swallow that entire mountain in one breath.”

  “What are you doing?” Rush asked Laughlan, who kept looking through the blue lens, then added more colored oils to its surface.

  “We don’t have a sentry’s vision, but I do remember some tricks to help us see better,” Laughlan replied, then put the lens against his lips and muttered a spell. “There… This should be good to go in a few minutes, once the oil dries.”

  I looked up at the mountain, wondering where Harper and Lumi were in particular. My heart swelled with hope as I thought about a future where Neraka would be free, where the Imen, who had taken me in and loved me unconditionally, would get to rebuild their world and their cities. I longed to see this world ridded of the crippling fear of going out at night and getting your soul eaten, of leaving your house and having your blood drained by a hungry Mara.

  Enough is enough.

  Our fates were now in Lumi’s hands.

  I closed my eyes, and, for the first time since I’d first heard the rumors about the Hermessi, the elemental spirits that fueled this world and the other, I prayed to them. I prayed to the wind, the seas, the deserts and the limestone, the lightning and the fire, the rivers and the mountain springs.

  I prayed to every natural element that resonate
d with my fae nature that we’d get the much-needed break to tip the scales on Neraka. I prayed for peace.

  Hansa

  Farrah’s Correction Officers went straight on the offense, but we rose to the occasion—and then some. Jax and I went against Farrah at the same time, while Caia, Blaze, and the others fought her guards.

  “Come on, Jax, let’s take these vermin down and go lend Harper a hand. I have a feeling Shaytan’s after her,” I said, then brought my sword down on Farrah.

  She dodged my hit and took a couple of steps back. Jax moved in for his chance, but she muttered a quick spell and sent out a pulse that knocked him back. Farrah had learned some swamp witch magic, it seemed.

  “Hah!” she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ve never expelled one so fast before.”

  That little moment of truth told me a lot about her. It also gave me an idea, as Jax took several steps forward, shaking his head and blinking rapidly. The pulse had dazed him a bit.

  “The sides, Jax,” I muttered.

  He heard me and replied with a brief nod. We moved around her and attacked her simultaneously. She muttered another spell and sent out a second pulse, but she could only aim it at one of us. She chose me this time but couldn’t push Jax away.

  He slashed at her with both his swords. I had to give her credit, though: she was fast and light on her feet. I felt blood dripping from my nose. That pulse packed a punch, after all. I wiped my nostril and checked my hand. There was a silvery smudge that confirmed the tickling sensation. As a Mara, Jax took that spell in differently. I didn’t want to give her the chance to launch another swamp witch magic attack, though.

  I quietly moved around and stayed out of her sight, watching her as she fought Jax.

  Growls erupted from below. Adlets climbed up the stairs. My heart soared at the sight of those magnificent beasts with luscious red fur and large, sharp fangs. They spared none of the fiends as they tore through the CO’s.

  It got so bloody so fast that Caia, Blaze, Scarlett, Patrik, and the rest of our crew had to pull back, just to make room for the Adlets. One by one, Farrah’s Correction Officers dropped dead—most of them mangled and dismembered.

  I recognized Colton as he killed one of the last remaining Maras, then stood on his hind legs and shifted back to his humanoid form. Hundurr growled as he tackled another CO behind him.

  “The daemons are coming,” Colton said, panting. “We made it up to the third level, but they hit us hard. I left Nevis and Neha with the others down there.”

  A nightmare unfolded below on the lower levels. I looked over the edge and broke into a sudden, cold sweat. Dhaxanian frost exploded all over the third level, as hordes of daemons fought their way up. Blood sprayed all over. Our allies struggled to keep the enemy at bay. We had already known it would come to this, sooner or later, but it still made my stomach churn as I watched the horror transpire.

  “I came up to help you guys,” Colton added. “I heard the screams and the walls coming down.”

  I gave him a brief and thankful nod, then looked at Blaze, who had just torched another Mara—whom Caia then decapitated with one swift blow.

  “Blaze! I think it’s time you go dragon, kiddo!” I said. “Daemons galore.”

  Blaze smirked. “I thought you’d never ask,” he replied, then ran to the edge of the terrace and jumped. He burst into his full dragon form in midair and flew down the mountain. A literal hell was about to swallow the daemons.

  I watched him fly for a second, until movement to my left caught my eye.

  Several Correction Officers ambushed Colton. He didn’t have time to turn back into his Adlet form, but his pack mates were quick to intervene. He got cut by a Mara’s blade in the process but managed to take a couple of steps back.

  “Colton, watch out!” I cried out, as Farrah was just a couple of feet away and headed toward him.

  She’d kicked Jax away and had caught a window of opportunity to sneak up on Colton. She moved faster than he could turn around and rammed her sword into his back.

  “Colton, no!” I screamed.

  The Adlets roared and rushed to finish off the other Correction Officers, while the rest of our crew stayed back, unable to advance because of the bloody and somewhat confusing scuffle.

  Colton collapsed to the ground. Farrah pulled her blade back, then turned around to block one of Jax’s retaliating blows. He growled furiously as he struck again and again, moving to her side and forcing her to turn her back to me.

  Perfect timing.

  Hundurr’s wail made my heart twist itself into a painful knot.

  I dashed forward and drove my broadsword through her spine at the same time that Jax moved away. I heard the blade shatter her vertebrae as she froze.

  A split second later, Hundurr reached her and snapped his jaws into her shoulder, ripping her entire left arm off in one devastating bite. Farrah screamed in agony and dropped her blade. I withdrew mine, then came around and pointed it at her throat.

  Her legs gave out. She dropped to her knees, coughing and groaning from the pain. Blood gushed out from her shoulder, pooling beneath her.

  Jax put his swords away and immobilized her, pinning her down with his body weight. Caia rushed to her side and pressed the tip of her flaming sword against her wound. Her shrieks tore through the air itself, as her flesh simmered until it was cauterized, and the amputation was complete. She cried out, covered in sweat and blood.

  Hundurr spat her arm out, then sat next to Colton’s body. He whimpered and licked the Adlet pack leader’s face as Colton gave his last breath. The other Adlets finished the last COs off, then gathered around Colton. Together with Hundurr, they howled from the bottom of their lungs.

  I could hear their grief. It gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. I breathed deeply, then looked at Farrah.

  “Darius is dead. Emilian is dead. Rowan is down,” I said, gritting my teeth. “It’ll take a while before you regain the feeling in your legs, Farrah.”

  “You’ll never get that arm back, either,” Ryker added, moving closer and pointing at her shoulder. “A pit wolf’s bite is permanent. The wound will heal, eventually, but the arm won’t grow again. There’s something in the perverted swamp witch charm that forces Adlets into pit wolves. It amplifies the damage that they can do. Their saliva is so toxic, it counteracts any growth enzyme, natural or otherwise.”

  “Concede now, and I will make sure you get a fair trial,” I continued.

  In any other circumstance, I would’ve felt a sliver of mercy for someone like her. But Farrah, just like the other Lords, had proven herself to be the worst of her kind. No moral compass, no intention of ever redeeming herself. She was done for.

  She sobbed, overwhelmed by the circumstances—not just her physical injuries. Farrah was helpless and at our mercy. She’d played fast and loose with morality, and she was paying a steep price for what she’d done already. She knew, deep down, that this wasn’t the end of her punishment.

  On the contrary, it was only getting started. She and Rowan were the only Mara leaders left alive at this point. Someone had to answer for all the crimes committed. Of course, there would be individual trials. But Farrah and Rowan were going to receive the harshest punishments, as they were entirely responsible for all the policies and actions that had led to the enslavement of the Imen and the deaths of many innocent creatures.

  Jax gave me some of his blood and spread some healing paste on my more serious wounds, giving me a couple of minutes to recover. My body had taken quite the beating, but, with a little bit of care, I could go on and chop off more enemy heads.

  The battle continued to ravage the lower levels, but our mission on the seventh had come to an end. I walked over to Hundurr and the other Adlets as they sat around Colton’s body and whimpered, overcome with grief.

  I rested my hand on Hundurr’s back and stroked him, gently.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” I whispered. “We wouldn’t be here if it weren�
��t for Colton. He fought well. He’ll always be remembered as a hero.”

  Hundurr shuddered, then slowly raised his head to look at me, tears glazing his big red eyes. I understood then, effortlessly, that he wouldn’t leave Colton’s body until his funeral. Hundurr’s fight was over, in a way. He’d lost enough as it was—his Adlet body, then Rover, and now Colton. I couldn’t ask any more of him at this point.

  “I get it,” I said, then let out a heavy sigh. “Keep him safe, buddy,” I added, shifting my attention to the dozen Adlets around us. “We’re done here, but they need our help down at the Palisade. Are you still with us?”

  The Adlets growled, then stood on all fours, lowering their heads as a means of telling me that, yes, they were most certainly still on board with kicking as many Mara and daemon asses as possible. My broadsword was already itching for more.

  I nodded slowly, then walked back to our crew and quickly scanned the seventh level.

  “Peyton, I need one of your guys to stay here and keep an eye on Farrah and Rowan,” I said. “I wouldn’t leave Farrah, in particular, alone with Hundurr. As little as I’d mind if he finished the job, we need her in one piece. Well, most of her, anyway,” I added, chuckling softly. “For the trial. She will testify on the record, whether she wants to or not.”

  Peyton smirked and motioned for one of his rebels to assume a guard position next to Farrah. She was close to passing out anyway. I wasn’t even sure she could hear us anymore. Her eyes kept rolling into her head, and she let out a moan, every now and then.

  “Ready to go down there and take on the daemon king and his armies?” Jax asked, giving me his signature half smile. It filled me with the much-needed energy and confidence I needed to keep going.